Many countries and corporates are setting Net-Zero emission goals. In the following days, we expect fresh commitments, as U.S. President Joe Biden is set to gather world leaders for an Earth Day summit on April 22.
China, the biggest polluter, won international praise for setting a 2060 net-zero target in September. The USA and India, second and third biggest CO2 emitters respectively, are moving to make a net-zero pledge ahead of global climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, this year.
However, all these positive commitments are long-term ones and we need to ensure existing generating assets become as efficient as possible, specially during the next 10 years. Even China, which is setting the path in renewables, forecasts a peak in coal generation by 2030 included in their 14th FYP:
Source: Energy Foundation China (2020)
What can we do to facilitate and sustain this change?
According to the IEA Sustainable Development Scenario, energy efficiency represents more than 40% of the emissions abatement needed by 2040
Alyssa Fischer, Energy Efficiency Policy Analyst at IEA, said in her March commentary that “Energy efficiency is the ‘first fuel’: reining in the scale of this unprecedented challenge, supporting net-zero energy goals at lower costs, and delivering a wide array of benefits for society.”
IEA Efficient World Scenario highlights that currently existing cost-effective technologies are sufficient to double global energy efficiency by 2040. Next-generation solutions, like the digitalization of energy systems, are opening the door to even further potential for efficiency improvements. To reach climate goals without hindering economic progress, countries need to prioritise transformational energy efficiency strategies across the whole economy.
Digital technologies are transforming the energy landscape and creating a new generation of efficiency solutions. ADEX Self-tuning AI control technology is enabling existing power plants can increase their flexibility, reduce emissions, and be more efficient.
We need more tools like this, commercially available today and easy-to-install, in order to urgently address the energy efficiency challenge and make long-term net-zero goals happen.